BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

June 20, 2005

A wonderful world - Chernobyl children arrive in Grass Valley for a summer of hope, fun and friendship

DAVID MIRHADI, davidm@theunion.com

It's a long way from Chernobyl, Belarus, to Grass Valley, but in a strangely wonderful way, Katya Maiseichyk felt as if she was coming home.

"I like being with the family," said Katya, 13, whose family for the next six weeks includes south county residents Jay and Joy Betz and their two daughters.

This is Katya's third visit to Grass Valley as part of the Nevada County Chernobyl Children's Project. This year, Katya joins 23 children for a summer of discovery and respite from the dangers of growing up in the area surrounding the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Though Katya and the children packed inside the parish hall at St. Patrick's Catholic Church were born long after the April 26, 1986, accident, the physical and emotional fallout from the explosion of a nuclear reactor in their homeland has persisted.

So, too, has the outpouring of support from Nevada County residents who spend $1,600 each year to bring students from Belarus into their homes.

Language or cultural barriers seem to fade quickly after the children arrive, Joy Betz said.

"Katya's part of the family now, and we think about her often."

"When she comes here, we're able to pick up right where we left off. We cry when she comes here and when she leaves to go home."

This year, Katya arrived in Nevada County with her sister, Lena, who is staying with a host family for the first time.

For 11 years, local families have sponsored these visits by children who often don't get to see a world beyond the area ravaged by the Chernobyl explosion that released 190 tons of uranium and graphite into the atmosphere. The level of radioactivity following the blast rivals levels that killed hundreds of thousands during and after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II.

What began as a local effort by members of the United Methodist Church in Nevada City has been transformed into a countywide multicultural event that provides the children with a chance at much-needed medical care and a healthy dose of fun.

The local Chernobyl Children's Project is one of approximately 50 such efforts nationwide, said organizer Gail LaBrie.

While they are here, the children will visit Squaw Valley, attend a Nevada Union choral concert, go bowling, enjoy weekly swim lessons and spend a day at Reno's Circus Circus hotel. They will also receive access to dental and other medical services.

Of the two dozen children who will be here until July 26, 19 of them are making a return trip to the area.

While the skies outside Thursday were gloomy, the mood inside the parish hall brimmed with optimism.

As they munched on all-American platters of fried chicken, pizza, green salad and chocolate cake, the children, some of whom came dressed in native garb for traditional dancing and singing, laughed and greeted new and old friends warmly.

And while they'll spend the next six weeks rekindling old relationships and making new ones, it's their American counterparts who might learn the most from their guests.

First-time hosts Matt and Kate Peterson of Cedar Ridge said they chose to host 11-year-old Stanislau "Staus" Vasilyeu in part so their three children could grow up understanding a different culture.

"We've always been interested in mission work," Kate Peterson said. "We thought it would be good to expose our children to life outside the Grass Valley bubble."

The Petersons and their children spent most of Wednesday evening communicating with Staus via hand signals. "It's going to be a good stretch for us all," she said.

Though brief, organizers said the six-week trip often helps these children build up their immune systems for the harsh winter ahead in their homeland.

"We've had Staus two days, and the transition's been seamless," said Matt Peterson, who said he "has a ton of questions to ask" his new friend.

As the evening drew to a close, sisters Jacqui and Jenna Betz, aged 12 and 9, serenaded the young visitors and their mentors with a two-part harmony rendition of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."

For the next six weeks, that's what organizers hope the Chernobyl children experience.

Source:

http://www.theunion.com/article/20050620/NEWS/50620008